The temperature is rising for ÜP’s environment this June! Our cover features the lovely, Ariana Granite, a new face for the editorial. She represents an abundance of comfort and endearment which is all our name could ask for and stand for. Editor-in-Chief, Hannah Beil, plunges into the interview following the outtakes. Candid responses from Granite shed light on her ever-glowing personality. She shares tips on achieving the perfect styled hair, Italian culture, and growing as an individual.
As for the creation of the images, the purity reigns clear as day in the subject matter. A library overall contains the connotation of peace; the bare minimum of noise and the calmness of a Sunday morning. Beil never met the model beforehand, but she had a gut feeling Granite would fit the image perfectly. Ideally, in the planning stages, the books in the background would vibrate off the walls to make for a colorful collective, and so they did. The figures complimented the outfit suitfully; a mid-length, silk, pleated dress with a large accessory for a modern day spin on the cardigan. The shimmer of the pieces accurately establish the internal characteristics of Ariana- she stands out amongst the crowd with such an amiable aura.
From a pillowcase to a front layering piece to an outfit, the coruscate green fabric adds dimension to the final, glamorous look. Elements to craft the addition include: scissors, dowels, and the original fabric. ÜP is calling that the trend is coming, and we are now one step ahead. The comfort level is minimized, but the statement is maximized. Our cover star encased a similar appearance to Cinderella with the solo dress.
The insider scoop on the blown out look that comes so easily to Ariana:
“There’s two ways that I style my hair, but the first one is necessary for the second. When it is hair-wash day, I use a curl cream and a leave-in spray after getting out of the shower. I only put a very little bit of product in my hair so that it does not get weighed down. Then I style my hair with the Denman Brush which a lot of people who have curly or wavy hair use! This brush makes your curls more uniform and it also can make your curls tighter which is why I love it because I am retraining my hair to go back into its natural state after all of the heat damage. The next day I brush out my hair and it gives me a blown-out look. I can also get this voluminous blown out look by using hot rollers. Lastly, I always blow out my bangs with a round brush and blow dryer.”
She emphasizes to use the greatest circumferenced hot rollers and heat protectant during the entire process. “Ugh, another step?” We hear you, but listen to L’oréal Paris who claims it is a “must” in an article on their favorite heat protectants. They list the consequences: dried out strands, split ends, breakage, dull hair, and more!
One of the first physical traits of Granite that the Creative Director, Beil, as well, noticed was her hair. She evidently puts the effort in to reach the ultimate blow out look. Similar to Matilda Djerf, the curls are the perfect mixture of curl and wave with a literal bang in her curtain-like bangs.
Apart from the appearances, we go deeper into how being an introvert plays a role in her relationships. She describes it as a personal decision, “sometimes I get really anxious and during these times I do not find it helpful when people talk to or touch me. Instead, I just need some time to be left alone. If people do try to talk to me or touch me, even with the intent of comforting me, it makes me even more anxious and irritable. If I did not explain this to those close to me, they may take it personally. To set the boundary of giving me space when I need it, I have to be aware of my needs and then communicate them.” Again, communication needs to be present for needs to be met. Humans are not mind readers, and Granite recognizes, “I cannot expect people to automatically know what I need in specific situations.”
In regards to needing time alone, she makes it a statement piece in her relationships. Many do not understand the benefits of time spent apart. Often we find ourselves naturally inclined to attach to other humans, yet we need to find a balance for both our mental sake and our relationships. Love grows stronger when two, three, four, etc. people are forced to prove they’re invested after distance. Little things such as remembering their favorite food and incorporating it in a dinner (handmade or takeout- no judgement), making the other(s) laugh with an inside joke, and acknowledging their silence as a notion of peace in the relationship.
“I make sure that I maintain my individualism.” In Granite’s relationships she explains, “ The same thing goes for the alone time that it is essential for me to thrive. I am very much an introvert so it is important for me to spend time by myself so that I can recharge, self reflect, get to know myself, and simply enjoy some alone time. Ultimately, I think healthy boundaries result when they are communicated clearly!”
While a handful of people do not understand their needs, it is important to learn more about yourself. Whether you are an extrovert or introvert there are tips and tricks to “thrive” in life more than before. Taking time to be solely around yourself for some time is crucial to seeking those answers. You can not expect to grow when you throw yourself in constant situations that seem forced. Until you know how you recharge, you are slowly emptying your battery.
Transitioning from a personal topic, Beil inquires about the differences that come with a true love in comparison to false love. Take a second to read these next words: “I’ve learned that love is not only a feeling but it is a choice. Feelings sway and are never consistent. They come and go and they grow stronger and weaker. A lot of people think that when the feeling of love diminishes, there is nothing left of the relationship. To me, it is okay and oftentimes inevitable that this could happen. This is when love becomes a choice. Love is not just what you feel, but it is a conscious and intentional decision to choose somebody and to choose them even when feelings have subsided. It is choosing to communicate when you want to shut down, and choosing to open up when you fear vulnerability, choosing to put yourself in the other’s shoes during a disagreement.”
The world needs to look at love in these parameters. Restricting your relationships is similar to restricting anything else in your life. Unhealthy habits lead to unhealthy experiences, so when you do not force expectations on your relationship, the love develops.
“Love led me to stop conforming to those around me. It takes a lot for me to feel like I can be myself around others but when I can I know that those people love me for me. After finding true love, I realized I no longer thought about the words I would say next, or the things I would laugh at, or the next thing I would do.” Forcing aspects of yourself is a sign that you are not with the right person or people (romantically or friendship wise).
Our cover star takes time to talk on soulmates, “I do believe in them. When people think of the word soulmate, a lot of them think that it is someone that is in your life forever. I, on the other hand, do not believe that to be true 100% of the time. I think that as you change and develop as a person, people come and go. Some people are only there for a chapter of your life in which they suited that version of you. I thought a previous relationship of mine was with my soulmate, but looking back I had a very skewed vision of what love looked like and I had not grown into my full and true self yet. So maybe that person was my soulmate at the time because maybe they aligned with who I was then, but I know that I was meant to outgrow that chapter. Today, I know myself deeply and I have grown to be authentic. With that, I know that my soulmate now is a forever one because while I will always grow, I will remain this true version of myself.”
In an exclusive relationship, there can be evident signs that one is conforming to the others’ lifestyle, but Ariana’s partner and her proclaim the purest of love. With religion as their forefront, they take time to acknowledge their relationship goes deeper than two humans falling for eachother. We talked partially about the details of her boyfriend’s heartfelt Instagram captions about her. Every word honors Ariana’s personality with hints of admiration for her beauty, but that is the magic of the two, beauty is not the center of their reasoning for being together. They complement one anothers personalities to mesh as a highly functioning couple.
Moving on from the deeper talk, Beil feels it is only necessary to ask about her eating habits at home growing up Italian. As we all know, Italians are masters in the kitchen, so let’s learn more about it from a primary source; “Pasta, pasta, and more pasta! Besides that, I grew up eating plenty of olives, tasting different wines, and my personal favorite is arancini (fried rice balls). Also cannot leave out my mom’s homemade red and vodka sauce! Sunday dinners are a family tradition of mine in which we come together with all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents and have pasta with sauce, meatballs and of course a loaf of bread is always included.” The staples are of course there, but the two laugh about the irony of her cooking versus her mother, Dana Granite. Although, she admits she does help as often as she can unless it is cold meat! She admits her sensitivity to the cold prohibits her from handling those food items.
Kindly, Granite offers a trigger warning for this next topic of discussion; her experience with an eating disorder. After years of not balancing her relationship with food, she found comfort in healing when she went away to college freshmen year. She claims this apprehension altered her the most compared to all other experiences. To emphasize her feelings she goes to say, “I feel like I could actually write an entire chapter book series on this question.”
“I am confident in my capabilities, in the way I am hardwired by nature.” We are hardwired. The purpose of our bodies is to function, not to look a certain way to fit a standard. After an extensive time learning how to fuel properly and love her body for what it is, Ariana stands more confident than ever. You would never recognize such an ordeal when you look at her from the outside, but this is the lesson to always treat others carefully.
“I feel so unbelievably grateful to have struggled to such an extent to where I had no choice but to get better because now I am free from all of that. I see such good in this because I am now in the beautiful position of being able to help others by possibly being that one voice that opposes the voice in their head or the voice of societal pressures of body standards”
Beil and Granite successfully devoured dinner at honeygrow and met up with her boyfriend, Jeremy. “We sat outside for some time, after five hours of driving to Philly and shooting the pictures, and shared the most genuine laughs… it was a Parisian moment in Philly- talking about moments in time while munching”, the Editor-in-Chief remembers, “we did not think about the time until our stomachs reminded us at almost ten o’clock.”
As a new tradition, Beil asks the model how she felt while shooting for the cover. The Editor-in-Chief receives, “At first, I felt out of my comfort zone but then I became inspired and saw it as a way to challenge myself to step out of where I am comfortable. Also, I was so creatively inspired by the outfit that you made from pieces most wouldn’t look twice at and the way you effortlessly and instantaneously came up with creative poses. It was truly such a great opportunity for me to more deeply experience the editorial realm!”
From an editorial stand point, Beil was amazed at the embodiment of the creative image she painted for Granite. Working with a public library, or any public space, is complicated, but libraries specifically are quiet. Every capture made a slight scene as customers were scouting for their books. Patiently, Ariana moved and stayed where she had to for the specific pose. As a team, they worked together to run the shoot smoothly in efforts of not being a dramatic distraction. Yet, thanks to Barnes and Noble, the June Issue came about exactly in the tone Beil strived for. The purpose of the cover is to demonstrate an artful tone. Vibrations from the grain, black-and-white, and reflections of different parts of the model’s face adds to the overall contemporary theme of this innovated issue.